The land of the giants

Every time I come here I'm amazed at how HUGE all these ruins are and how they are stuck right in the middle of a vibrant, modern city that just has to work around them.

The Church of St. Peter in Chains

This ancient church is right across the street from our hotel. I had to climb these stairs to the sound of accordian music played by a street musician. The inside of the church contains this glass case with the chains that supposedly were clamped on St. Peter when he returned to Rome and, ultimately, to his martyrdom. There are about 500 churches in Rome, and, thus far, none of them charges an entry fee.

The body of Pope John Paul II (waxed) on display in St. Peter's

The Trevi Fountain experience

If you can fight your way through the crowds, you can toss a coin in the fountain to ensure that you return to Rome someday. This magnificent Baroque fountain is one of the most famous in the world, even though it is jam-packed between buildings in the midst of a neighborhood.

Inside St. Peter's Cathedral

No photos are allowed in the Sistine Chapel, but they are in St. Peter's because all the art scenes are mosaics, so the flashes do not harm them. It's difficult to believe they are mosaics, however; the entire effect is so overwhelming just in terms of size. It's easy to feel like an ant!

The ceiling in the hall of maps

For unkown reasons, I like this giant foot!

The Map Hall

This is one of dozens and dozens of intricate maps painted on the walls of a long, long hallway in the Vatican. They are not only beautiful, but give a fascinating image of the known world at the time.

The lapis lazuli floor

During the long, winding, crowded tour of the Vatican museums the treasures all become a blur, they are so overwhelming. This floor impressed me, since I have a single gold wedding ring with a tiny square of lapis that I treasure. This floor would make about a million of those rings!

ROME: The eternally seductive city

We didn't even drop off our bags at the hotel before we headed off to our tour of the Vatican with our trusty guide, Lorenza. I took this photo of St. Peter's with the busses because that's the way you see everything in this city -- surrounded by tour busses. We had an unexpected downpour just as we came out of St. Peter's, and we all got thoroughly soaked running the four blocks or so to our own bus.

Another classic image of a European city

It's easy to see from this dreamy image why Florence is considered one of the top tourist stops in the entire world. Besides this view, it is the home to billions of dollars worth of art treasures.

My unique bathroom

Italian bathrooms are always an experience, and this one is no exception. You can wash everything in the entire bathroom every time you take a shower. How efficient!

Brunelleschi's Dome

If you look hard, you can see people up near the top of this magical creation on the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. I've never been up there myself, because there are always long lines to get in, but one of these days. . .

I love tour guides!

Agneze (pronounced on-yayz-eh) was our competent guide in Florence. I'm always impressed with the knowledge of guides and their storytelling abilities. Agneze was born in Florence but lives about 30 km away now. She speaks multiple languages and seems to know everything there is to know about her hometown.

Our first day in Italy: A view of the Arno on the Ponte Vecchio

If you notice the level of this river, imagine it overflowing the banks and rising to 3 meters all through town. That's what happened in 1966. You can still see the water line on buildings and much of the damage has never been repaired.

Mt. Rigi, just south of Luzern

We all took a cable car ride (with much screaming) and then a cog train up to the summit of this mountain on a beautiful sunny day. Janet and I ate salads while sitting on a deck overlooking this view. What a day?

My house in Luzern

I decided I could live here, but Janet said she saw it first. We'll see which of us comes up with the down payment first!

The classic scene in Lovely Luzern

Peter Shaw, our driver

Peter is justly proud of his adopted home of Luzern. (He's actually an Aussie and plans to retire there next year with his Swiss wife and grown daughters.) Here he is at the beautiful memorial to the hundreds of Swiss Guards who were killed during the French Revolution. Interestingly enough, I discovered that those guards were actually buried in Montmartre Cemetery (which I blogged about while in Paris) long before it became "the" place for artists, intellectuals and musicians to be buried in Paris. It was used as a mass grave for these guards and other victims of war.

Our Swiss breakfast

Everything here is so fresh and beautifully presented -- numerous breads (all rustic and deliciously crunchy), croissants, butter, jam, ham, sausages, eggs, juices, nice strong coffee, fresh fruit, etc., etc. We are usually filled up until dinnertime!

Easter windows in Luzern

These windows could have been in an art museum!

Yodeling, fondue and dancing

What a night! The menu included cheese fondue enhanced with white wine and kirsch, schnitzel and rösti potatoes, salad and ice cream. The program included yodeling and music made by mountain horns, bottles, brooms and saws. Our fearless leader, Janet, got onstage and yodeled with the best of them, along with one of our students, Kyle. Way to go!

Off to Switzerland: Land of Milk and Mountains

This breathtaking painting is typical in the Altstadt in Luzern. This particular one is next to the site of our cultural Swiss experience at the Stadtkeller. More on that in the next posting.

The Gardens

The grounds at Versailles are even more amazing than the interior of the palace. We walked for miles and didn't see half of what was there. We stopped for about an hour at a fountain that was actually a water ballet in time with symphonic music. Unbelievable. The scale of Versailles has to be seen to be appreciated. The line to get in was long, but the place can absorb so many people that it didn't matter. We ate lunch at one of about a half-dozen cafes. it was truly like a town.

The Palace of Versailles

The sheer size of this place is daunting. At one time there were 20,000 support staff living here. It makes you understand why Marie Antoinette was beheaded!

My Favorites

Here are just a few of the works I really liked; sorry I didn’t take note of the artists’ names.

I took a photo of this sculpture for my husband, Kent. I think some of his sculptures are good enough to be in this museum too. This one is by Ossip Zadkine (1890-1967) and it’s entitled Orphee.

My Paris Museum Visit

I decide to visit a museum I’ve never been to before, so I choose the modern art museum, directly across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower. I looks like an enormous monument to the architectural style of the 1930s.

Honoring the dead

I saw four or five people walking around with watering cans and flowers. I suspect they were decorating graves in honor of Easter weekend.

Several of the dramatic sculptures in Montmartre Cemetery

I love Montmartre Cemetery!

This fascinating historic site is right outside the door of our hotel, the Mercure Montmartre. It was apparently an old gravel quarry with a rather dark history. Innocent people have lost their lives there during times of conflict when it was used as a mass grave, including for the hundreds of Swiss Guards murdered during the French Revolution. Now, however, visitors come to see the graves of many famous artists, musicians and intellectuals, many of whom were part of the Montmartre cultural life of the 19th and early 20th century. Just a few of its famous dead inhabitants: Hector Berlioz, Degas, Dumas, Foucault, Heinrich Heine, Truffault, Rousseau, and Emile Zola.

Great for charm, not so great for browsing

The bookstore is cramped, odd, filled with unshelved piles of new and used books and, generally, needs some tidying up; but that’s part of its charm.

The importance of being Ernest (or maybe earnest?)

A sweet-looking couple relax in front of the bookstore. I note that he bears a weird resemblance to Hemingway.

The Shakespeare and Company Bookstore

This historic landmark is right across the river from Notre Dame Cathedral, and carries books in English for those of us needing a reading fix while in a foreign country. It’s got a very colorful and honorable history. Among those who used to frequent it was Ernest Hemingway, during the 20s. I spent about an hour searching for just the right book for myself and settled on “A Moveable Feast,” by (of course) Ernest Hemingway.

Art seems to be everywhere in Paris

All the walls in this dingy Metro area were covered in colorful and fanciful painting.

Yes, they have gyros in France too!

This little shop is on the Left Bank, near Notre Dame, a huge tourist area where Kent and I and his sister, Carole, and her husband, John, stayed on our trip five years ago.

I had to test French gelato in preparation for Italy!

The flavors at this particular shop ranged from coconut chocolate to pine nut caramel to grapefruit. I settled on amarena (vanilla with sour cherries).

Rental bikes -- what a great idea!

These bicycles are available for rent all over Paris. An American credit card doesn’t work because you need a “smart chip,” which for unknown reasons, we can’t seem to get in the U.S. But they appear to be motorized bikes, which would be wonderful to have available.

Bato-Boats on the Seine

These elegant and practical commuter boats served the four of us well during our trip to Paris in 2007. Remember them, Carole and John?

French pastries rock!

It was hard to choose a treat from this amazing assortment, but I settled on a raspberry tart. Quite tasty.